Olympian Wings
by GuenVanHelsing
Summary: One minute fighting a hellhound, the next falling several hundred feet in the air. Van Helsing has been transported to modern-day New York, to help Percy Jackson rescue Nico from the clutches of Kronos.
1. Chapter 1

Olympian Wings

_One minute fighting a hellhound, the next falling several hundred feet in the air. Van Helsing has been transported to modern-day New York, to help Percy Jackson rescue Nico from the clutches of Kronos. _

**Disclaimers:** I don't own Van Helsing OR Percy Jackson characters...

Chapter One: Wings of an Angel

Gabriel Van Helsing rolled out of the way of the hellhound's claws, coming to his feet at the edge of the cliff. For a terrifying moment he was off-balance, then he lunged forwards and slammed into the hellhound, sending them both tumbling through the snow.

Carl was frantically trying to find the reverse summoning in the book of spells, flipping through the pages and muttering to himself. Occasionally he'd glance up to check on his companion's progress.

"Find it yet?" panted Van Helsing, disengaging the hellhound for a moment.

"Not quite," replied Carl cheerfully. "But I'm definitely close. Ah, here we are..." His finger traveled down the row of arcane inscriptions, and he read out carefully, "Reverto ut vestri domus universitas, abyssus bestia."

The hellhound gave a howl of despair as it melted into an intangible mist, its final attack pushing Van Helsing over the edge of the cliff.

"Van Helsing!" The friar ran to the cliff edge, peering over. There was a blinding flash of light, and Van Helsing was gone.

Xx

_Falling_...

Gabriel opened his eyes and found himself plummeting towards the ground several hundred feet in the air. He felt strange, heavier...

With a whoosh, two brilliant white, feathery wings burst from his back, tearing through his shirt and coat to catch him. His descent halted abruptly, the updraft yanking him higher.

"What-?" Van Helsing instinctively flapped his wings, steadying himself. For a few minutes he drifted through the air, trying to get the hang of his newfound flying abilities. Then he looked down.

"This is _definitely_ not Romania!" Gabriel swooped low, landing awkwardly in the grassy field. Tall, glittering buildings rose on the skyline, the many lights of the city causing the night sky to be brighter than normal.

Gabriel stood, folding his wings close against his back. It was uncomfortable to have the black duster on between his wings, so the hunter very, very carefully slid out of it. His shirt was torn beyond repair and he pulled that off as well.

"Now where am I?..." Van Helsing spun in a complete circle, not recognizing anything. The only partially normal things were the forest and the road. Even then, there was a weird, black hard substance coating the dirt.

Lights flashed around the bend of the road, and a loud roar echoed in the hunter's ears. A large, clunky metal vehicle was speeding towards him, blinding lights on its front spotlighting him on the road.

Gabriel jumped into the air, beating his wings as hard as he could and flying higher, feeling the rush of air beneath him as the vehicle raced by. Shakily, he landed again. Another roar was coming nearer, and Gabriel didn't want to hang around to see what _that_ was. The hunter took a running leap into the air and soared above the hot tar, rising on the thermals created by the heated road.

"Dinner has arrived!" shrieked a high female voice. Van Helsing heard the soft beat of leathery wings a moment before a giant, dragon-like creature flew up in front of him.

Gabriel backtracked, nearly spinning out of control in an effort to stop. The dragon-creature smiled, revealing needle-sharp teeth as long as his hand.

"Never flown before?" it commented, emitting a screeching laugh and diving for him.

Van Helsing flew as fast as he could, feeling the dragon-creature's hot breath through his boots. Unless he figured out a way to get rid of the more flight-wise monster, he wasn't going to last very long.

"Are you scared, little bird-man?" hissed the dragon-creature, snapping at the hunter and scratching his leg with its fangs. "Ready to meet the god of the Underworld?"

Now even more confused, Gabriel abruptly dive-bombed, tucking in his wings and doing a perfect cannonball dive through the air. Before he could hit the ground, he pulled up and shot past the dragon-creature, determination lending him speed.

He could hear the shouts of children, and a whistling noise as arrows shot past him. The dragon-creature screamed, dropping out of the sky and digging its long claws into Gabriel's back.

Van Helsing gasped in pain, drawing a dagger from his boot and slicing the monster's paw, causing it to release him.

More arrows streaked through the dark night sky, most of them hitting their mark. Gabriel noticed through a haze of pain they were tipped with bronze arrowheads... Then he was falling again, losing his grip on consciousness. The last thing he heard was a hellish shriek and shouts of triumph.

Then nothing.

________________________________________________________________

_Me: Don't blame me for any Latin grammar mess-ups; blame the Latin/English reverting site I got it from._

_Van Helsing: And you trusted the site?_

_Me: What choice do I have? It's not like I've got a Latin/English dictionary hanging around._

_Van Helsing: Good point. One question... What the heck did Carl say??_

_Me: Translation is "Return to your home world, hell beast". _

_Van Helsing: Wonderful._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Welcome to Tartarus

"Wh-where am I?" Nico di Angelo tugged against the chains that bound him to the dark, shadowy wall.

The man standing by the golden sarcophagus smiled cruelly and turned to face the boy, revealing the deep scar running down the left side of his face. He couldn't have been more than seventeen, but there was an evil, metallic quality to his voice that was thousands of years old. "Welcome to Tartarus, my dear son of Hades."

"How did you-?"

"I am Kronos, Lord of the Titans," said the man with a low, evil-sounding chuckle. His sharp, golden eyes were devoid of any emotion, save a deep, festering hate. "And you will serve my purposes well." He turned to the pretty cheerleader standing by his side. "Now, my dear _empousa_ Kelli, how would you like another blood-sucking fiend to join us?"

"Am I not enough for you, my lord?" Kelli smiled endearingly.

Kronos laughed. "Of course, but I have something in mind for our demigod friends..." His eyes glittered as he said, "Time to pay Hades a little visit."

Xx

Hades, Lord of the Underworld, looked up lazily from his perch on his throne. His eyes widened in surprise. "Kronos!"

"Hello, Hades," said Kronos. "I have a deal for you."

"What kind of deal?"

"Bring a certain person back to life for me, and I'll give you back your son."

Hades stood slowly, his height growing until his staticky hair was nearly touching the ceiling. "Where is my son?" he growled.

"Safe and sound, I assure you. Kelli is keeping him safe."

Hades sighed, shrinking back to a smaller, six-foot status. "What do you want, Kronos?"

Kronos smiled chillingly. "You know what I want."

"You can not have him. He's been sentenced to an eternity in Tartarus."

"As was I, remember? Now bring him out, or I'll have Nico's blood drained from his body."

Hades groaned and waved a hand, and slowly, so very slowly, a shape materialized in the room with them. Shoulder-length dark hair held back with a strange, rune-covered clasp hung low around his lowered face, obscuring it from view. A dark blue coat hung on his shoulders, complimenting the dark pants and shirt. The pale-skinned man raised his head, revealing his silver-tinged eyes.

"Have you finished torturing me yet?" he said, his thick Transylvanian accent almost slurring his words.

Almost.

"Count Vladislaus Dracula," said Kronos, giving a tiny bow which the vampire returned. "I am need of your services."

"At what price are you willing to pay?"

"You won't be returned to the pit from which you came."

"You drive a hard bargain."

Kronos shrugged. "I'll get my way eventually. You'll find the rewards are quite... interesting."

"The only reward I want you can not give me."

Intrigued, Kronos leaned closer. "What is it that you want?"

Dracula smiled, his sharp canines gleaming in the shadowy light. "Only Gabriel Van Helsing to murder as I wish. But he is not here."

Hades frowned. "What is going on here, Kronos?"

Kronos ignored him. "Come, my friend," he said, heading for the door with Dracula following. "We have work to do."

"KRONOS!" Hades swore loudly, voicing several rude, impossible ideas of how to rearrange Kronos's anatomy.

"What's the matter, lord?" A pale, dark-eyed woman stepped from the shadowy hall into the throne room, her black dress stirring the dust on the stone floors.

"Persephone, my love," said Hades, stopping his tirade to speak to his beautiful wife. "Nothing is wrong. I have just loosed a menace on the world, and my son is-" he trailed off, as her grew worried.

"What's wrong with Nico?" she asked.

"Kronos has him," said Hades in a small voice.

Persephone frowned. "Then get him back!"

"I can't! He's too powerful for me alone."

"Then don't go alone. Get your brothers to help."

"No!" snapped Hades. "That I will not do."

"Then you have doomed Nico and all the demigods," said Persephone. "The Count is more dangerous than you could ever imagine."

"I _know_, I _know_," groaned Hades, pacing around the throne room. "What to do, what to do..."

"Go. To. Your. Brothers!" Persephone smiled at him, something she rarely did. "Please? For me?"

Hades smiled back. "For you, my love, I will go to my brothers."

"Wonderful. Now stop talking about doing it and go do it!" Persephone stalked out of the throne room, leaving Hades no choice but to revert to his divine form and whisk himself away to Mount Olympus.

Xx

"Kronos has WHO?!" Thunder crashed loudly, and the sky darkened. Zeus, Lord of the Sky, glared at his dark brother. "You swore never to release him."

"I didn't swear on the River Styx," said Hades defensively. "And anyways, I was trying to get Nico back."

"Nico?" said Poseidon. "He is your son?"

"You broke our covenant as well?!" Zeus started to raise his thunderbolt, but Hades raised a hand.

"I did _not_ break our covenant, brothers. Nico and his sister Bianca were born before the pact not to sire any more children was made."

"Then why is he so young?" asked Zeus.

"They were trapped in the Locus Casino," explained Hades, "but that's beside the point. What matters is that Kronos has my son and Dracula is helping him."

"He's just a vampire," said Poseidon. "Why is he such a problem?"

"Because," said Hades, "any mortal bitten by him with the right venom will become like him, in their search for blood to survive."

"Then why did you free him from Tartarus?" growled Poseidon, fingering his trident.

"I had no choice. Can you help me get Nico back?"

"Brother, he is only a demigod," said Zeus. "You must think of the bigger picture!"

"I am," said Hades firmly. "But I am also thinking of my son."

"We can't help you," said Poseidon, "but maybe Percy can..."

"Percy? Percy Jackson?" Hades shook his head. "He flaunts too readily in my realm for me to run to _him_ for help."

"You want Nico back? Then you'll have to trust me." Poseidon stood. "Come. I'll take you to Half-Blood Camp right away."

Zeus sighed. "I hate it when you two team up on me! Fine," he said. "I'll do what I can."

"Great!" said Hades, right before he and Poseidon were whisked away on a warm sea breeze.

Xx

"Hmm..." Carl flipped through the book more quickly, sitting on a snow-covered rock with Van Helsing's black hat in his lap. "Here we are! This should do the trick. Addo mihi ut Van Helsing!"

"Oh, dammit," he said a moment before he was lost in a blinding flash of light.

Xx

"This was _not_ what I was thinking of when I asked for your help," Hades muttered, wiping flecks of seawater from his face.

Poseidon grinned. "Of course not! If you had, you wouldn't have asked."

"What the heck is that?" asked Hades, pointing to a brown object falling from the sky.

Poseidon looked up, squinting in the sunlight reflecting off the water. "It looks like a-" he cut himself off and ran across the surface of the water to catch the falling brown object.

_Splash_!

The force of the large object hitting the god sent both of them into the water, and a scared voice yelled, "WATCH THE BOOK! WATCH THE BOOK!"

Poseidon raised them out of the sea, waving a hand over the book and removing any trace of seawater from the leather cover. "Who are you?" he asked. "Falling from the sky like that!"

Carl hugged the book to his chest, panting. "Where am I?"

"You're in Long Island Sound."

"The Long what?"

Poseidon sighed and led the friar over to the open-topped bubble where Hades was waiting. "Long Island. New York. United States of America."

Carl's eyes widened. "I sent him to _America_?!" he gasped.

"Sent who?" asked Hades as the bubble started moving again.

"N-no one," stuttered Carl. "Please tell me I don't know you."

Hades inspected his face carefully, then shook his head. "I'm not surprised I don't. Who are you?"

"Carl. Who are you?"

"I'm known as Hades."

"Hades? Like the god of the Underworld in Greek mythology?"

"Those myths are mostly truth," added Poseidon from the front of the bubble.

"Who are you, then? Neptune?"

"I _am_ called Neptune, by the Romans, but I prefer Poseidon."

Carl pinched himself. "I must be dreaming," he said. "Tell me I'm dreaming."

"You're not," said Hades. "And what's with the brown robes?"

"I'm a friar," said Carl. "Not a monk, a _friar_."

"Ah. And who is this person you sent here?"

"It was an accident!" Carl held up the book. "I was trying to get rid of the hellhound, but Van Helsing disappeared too- Oops!" He clapped his free hand over his mouth.

"Van Helsing?" repeated Hades. "That's who Dracula wanted."

Poseidon exchanged a glance with his brother. "The same Dracula Kronos wanted?"

Carl raised a hand nervously. "Are you telling me _Dracula_ is back? Count Vladislaus Dracula, the vampire?"

"That's right. My brother here reincarnated him for Kronos." Poseidon stopped the bubble and it dissolved in the water, setting them gently down on their feet in the water. Waves lapped at their boots as they splashed through the water up to the sandy beach.

Carl groaned and hurried after the longer-legged gods. "This is _not_ good news!"

"It can't be that bad, can it?"

"You have no idea..."

________________________________________________________________

_Van Helsing: DRACULA?!?!?_

_Me: Shh! Not so loud! Yes, Dracula._

_Van Helsing: Why can't he just die and _stay_ dead for once?!_

_Me: Because it's more fun this way! BWAHAHA! _


	3. Chapter 3

_Erm, sorry for taking so long in updating... We lost our power for most of the day and by the time we got it back it was too late to hook up the computer and try to fight with it. So here we are..._

Chapter Three: Who Are You

_Bouncing back in time:_

"Is he going to be okay?"

A no-nonsense young female voice broke through the dark fog that covered his mind. Gabriel opened his eyes, hearing a deeper, male voice reply,

"I don't know. We can't give him ambrosia unless he's a half-blood... Ah, good, you're awake." A tall man moved into view, seated in a strange wheeled contraption with a blanket across his lap. He smiled kindly at the hunter. "How are you feeling?"

"Who are you?" Gabriel winced at the sound of his voice; even to his ears, it sounded rough.

"My name is Chiron, and this is Annabeth," said the man, gesturing with one hand to a grey-eyed girl in her teens standing in the corner. "You're at Camp Half-Blood."

"What's a half-blood?"

Chiron exchanged a glance with Annabeth before replying, "Half-blood is another term for demigod; in other words, a half-god, half-mortal child."

Gabriel shook his head. "I haven't a clue what you're talking about." He started to get up, but the girl pushed him back down onto his stomach.

"Don't get up just yet," she said. "The monster got you good."

Van Helsing looked at her in silence for a moment. Then he asked, "Half-God?"

"You know, the gods of Ancient Greece?" When Gabriel shook his head, Annabeth looked shocked. "Doesn't _everyone_ know about them?"

"I've never been to Greece."

"Neither have I. That's not the point. The point is, the Olympian gods are real, and once in a while they sire children from mortals." Annabeth stopped, seeing she was only confusing him more. "Chiron, I'm late for canoeing practice."

"You may go," said Chiron, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "What is your name?"

Gabriel hesitated, and the man smiled. "I'm not a demon trying to possess you," he assured the hunter. "I only wish to know what to call you."

"Van Helsing," said Gabriel finally. "Gabriel Van Helsing."

"Well, Mr. Van Helsing, I've never met anyone quite like you in all my three thousand years..."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. And here he was thinking _he_ was old!

"You have wings," said Chiron. "Very beautiful wings. How did you get them?"

"I don't know."

Chiron stayed silent, apparently wanting an explanation. Gabriel stayed silent as well, not wanted to give one. It wasn't like they'd _believe_ him, anyways.

After a while, Chiron broke the silence. "There is a barrier around Camp Half-Blood preventing mortals or monsters from entering. How did you get through? Do you know who your parents are?"

"I don't remember," said Gabriel, looking away.

"You don't remember your parents?"

"No."

"Hmm." Chiron watched him, clearly thinking. "What do you know of monsters?"

"What kind of monsters?" asked Gabriel warily.

"Whatever you know."

"Vampires? Werewolves? Psychopaths? What exactly do you want from me?" Gabriel was starting to get frustrated. "I don't know who you are or what you're trying to find out, but I don't need your help." This time he wasn't stopped as he pushed himself up, sat on the edge of the bed and swung his legs over the side. Someone had taken his boots, and he saw them sitting next to the doorway.

"What do you know of the Titans?"

"Not a thing." Gabriel leaned down to pick up his boots and winced. Curse his aching back! "What are Titans?"

"They came before the gods," explained Chiron.

"You keep saying 'gods'. I know only one God." The hunter hopped around the room on one foot, yanking on his boots. "Who are these others you're talking about?"

"The Olympic gods. There are twelve. Zeus, Hera, Athena, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes, Artemis, Poseidon, Dionysus, Apollo, Ares and Demeter. There are other gods, such as Pan, god of the wild, and Hades, god of the Underworld."

"God of the Underworld... The dragon-thing mentioned that."

Chiron sighed. "And the Titans. Kronos is trying to take over the world, with the help of other Titans and monsters who were banished to Tartarus many, many years ago."

Gabriel held up a hand to halt any further explanation. "Let me get this straight. A whole bunch of monsters are trying to take over the world?"

"Something like that."

"And you have an innumerable number of gods."

"Mr. Van Helsing, you must understand that the gods are not to be talked so lightly of-"

"I don't know your gods, Mr. Chiron," said Gabriel. "I only know mine. And even at that, sometimes I wonder just how much I know Him." He headed for the door, but was cut off as Chiron wheeled in front of him.

"You need medical attention," he said. "It's dangerous out there if you don't know what you're dealing with-"

"I don't need medical attention," said Gabriel, struggling to rein in his temper. "What I _do_ need is to get out of here." He brushed past the man and left the Big House, blinking in the bright sunlight.

Children of a variety of ages ran across the yard, in and out of the twelve buildings set in a U. Several wore bronze armor, waving bronze weapons of various shapes and sizes. Many of them had the same family resemblance, such as gorgeous looks or a mischievous quirk to their face.

A horse's whinny echoed across the noisy summer air, and Gabriel turned. A large, black horse burst out of the stables, spreading its black feathery wings and soaring into the air, a laughing boy upon its back.

"Easy, Blackjack!" he said as the pegasus wheeled through the air. "Not too high."

Gabriel watched the subtle adjustments the horse made to its wings as it flew, changing direction far quicker than any bird. If only he could fly like that...

"Who's that?"

"There's a guy in front of the Big House."

"Is he a half-blood? He doesn't look like any of us."

"Whoa, look, he's got wings!"

Whispers spread through the crowd of children until Gabriel had to clap his hands over his ears against the rising crescendo.

"Hush, campers!" Chiron stepped up behind Gabriel, resting a hand on his shoulder. Once silence fell, he continued, "This is Gabriel Van Helsing, the man who helped us defeat the dragon-creature last night."

Gabriel warily lowered his hands, keeping his wings tucked close against his back despite the pain. He realized Chiron was _standing_...

Gone was the wheelchair. From the waist up, Chiron was a normal looking man with a graying beard and ageless eyes. From the waist down, though, he had the body of a white stallion.

Van Helsing's eyes went wide and he took a step away. Even though he was two inches taller than the six foot tall centaur, the hunter was still vulnerable if Chiron decided to use his sharp hooves on him.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Mr. Van Helsing," said Chiron. "Come. I'll show you the camp."

Xx

Carl hurried after the two gods as they came over the hill into the camp, into the crowd of running, shouting children. The friar was jostled several times, having to jump up to see where his companions had gone. They were headed for the centaur and man walking towards a large mansionisque house.

Finally the friar recognized the man. "Van Helsing!" he called, waving his arms frantically. "VAN HELSING!"

Gabriel looked up, a smile lighting up his handsome features when he saw his friend. "Carl!" The hunter sprinted across the yard and gave the friar a hug. "What are you doing here?"

The friar grinned sheepishly and held up the leather-bound book. "I was trying to get you back and read the wrong incantation." He frowned, giving his friend another look. "What happened to you?" Then he gasped, reaching out and gently touching the white feathers. "Where'd you get wings from?"

"I don't know," said Gabriel, uncomfortable. "They just... grew."

Carl put his hands on his hips, an awkward gesture if you're holding a book. "Explain the bandages, please."

"This dragon-thing attacked me..."

"I leave you for _one day_ and look what happens!" Carl threw his hands in the air in despair. "Sometimes I wonder how you survived all those assignments on your own."

"Luck?" Gabriel shrugged, then winced. "Did you figure out how to get back?"

"Not yet. I'm working on it. And there's something I need to tell you-"

"Mr. Van Helsing!" called Chiron. "You'd better come hear this out."

Gabriel gave Carl a half-shrug and they joined the gods and centaur. "What?" he asked.

"Have you ever met a man called Vladislaus Dracula?"

Gabriel went completely still, staring at the centaur like he'd suddenly sprouted a second head. "Yes," he finally said. "Several times."

"Do you know how to kill him?"

Van Helsing sighed. "You _can't_ kill him," he said.

"Anyone can be killed," said Hades.

"Got a werewolf?" asked Gabriel. They shook their heads. "Then you're in trouble."

"Werewolves are extinct," said Annabeth, coming up behind Carl, making the friar jump. "They're myths; legends."

"Try again." Gabriel gestured at the half moon, barely visible in the evening sky. "It's almost the full moon."

"There are no werewolves left," said Hades. "They all got killed off."

"No, they didn't," said Gabriel with a sigh. "I am one."

_________________________________________________

_Van Helsing: *muttering rudely under breath*_

_Me: What did you say?_

_Van Helsing: Oh, nothing. But you weren't supposed to tell anyone!_

_Me: Who said not to? Anyways, we have to kill Dracula (sorry, Drac) and the only way to make him kick the bucket is to have you, as a werewolf, bite him before you shred him into little tiny pieces._

_Van Helsing: Thank you for that lovely mental image. _

_Me: You're welcome. _


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Here Comes Dracula

"Are you asleep?" whispered Carl in the darkness on their room in the Big House.

"I _was_," Gabriel whispered back from across the room. "What is it?"

"I just had a feeling. You know, when something really bad is going to happen."

"Like what?"

"I... I don't know."

"It's probably nothing."

"I'm not so sure..."

"Did you forget something?"

"I don't think so."

"Lose something?"

"No..."

"Set something down and forget where you put it?"

"No... OH MY GOD!" Carl leapt off his cot, grabbing his hat from the table.

"What?" Gabriel was standing, hair and feathers slightly ruffled from lying on the cot.

"The book! I left the book in the pavilion where we ate dinner!" Carl scrambled for the door, accidentally hitting the light switch. "AH!"

The sound of horse's hooves came galloping towards them, and Chiron slid to a clattering stop outside the opened door. "I heard someone yell. Is there a problem?"

"Carl isn't used to electric lights," said Gabriel, eyeing the light fixture warily. "Neither am I."

The centaur sighed. "It's not going to bite," he said.

"It isn't?" Carl came out from the closet, brushing off his robes. "Oh, good."

"Other than the light, is something wrong?"

"I left my book in the pavilion," said Carl. "If it gets wet, the ink will run."

"It doesn't rain here if we don't want it to, and I doubt anyone wanted rain last night." Chiron motioned up the hall. "You're welcome to go get it. Do you want me to show you the way?"

"I think we can find it," said Gabriel, picking up his ragged black duster and pulling it on over his folded wings. "Come on, Carl."

In the pavilion, the tables were empty. There was no sign of the book, and Carl was getting frantic.

"That's our only way home!" he said anxiously, leaning down to peer under one of the tables. "If I've lost it..."

Gabriel stopped dead in his tracks. "Carl..."

"I _know_ I had it right here-"

"_Carl_!"

"What?!" Carl stood up. "Did you find something?"

"Carl, Dracula was here."

"Dracula? Here?"

Van Helsing looked confused. "I can smell him here..."

"Smell him?!" exclaimed Carl, but Gabriel wasn't listening. The hunter moved as if in a daze, over to the ever-burning brazier where the half-bloods made their food sacrifices.

"He stood here... then went to our table." Gabriel climbed up the stairs to the big table across the top where Chiron, Dionysus, and the satyrs sat. He stopped where he and Carl had sat earlier that night. "He stopped."

Carl was looking at him strangely. "And you can smell all this?"

"He smells like the dead." Gabriel absently tapped the tabletop as he took a deep breath. "He had something with him... Some sort of snake creature." The hunter shook his head, as if trying to clear it. "It's confusing. Like it's human and snake, but together..."

"One of the _dracaena_," said Chiron sadly, his hooves making a soft _clip-clop_ sound on the stone floor of the pavilion. "A human's body from the waist up with legs like snakes' tails."

"They're evil."

"Yes. They serve Kronos." Chiron halted at the bottom of the steps, looking up at them. "Did you find your book?"

"Dracula took it."

Chiron reared back. "The Count was here? How did he get through the barrier?"

"It doesn't affect us..." mused Gabriel.

"What do you mean?" asked Carl. "What barrier?"

"The barrier that protects the camp," said Chiron. "Monsters and mortals can't get through. Your friend Van Helsing, on the other hand, fell right through the barrier like it wasn't there at all."

Carl blanched. "Fell?"

"I'll explain later," said Gabriel. "We need to find the book."

"And we need to rescue Nico," said Chiron. "I have a feeling they'll be in the same place."

"Where is that?"

The centaur sighed. "How much do you like flying horses?"

Xx

"You're going to need help," said Chiron as they headed back for the Big House. "I'm sure I can round up some campers willing to help our cause."

Gabriel was already shaking his head. "I don't want to get anyone killed."

"Mr. Van Helsing, these children face death every day of their lives. Kronos is planning a war; we're merely waiting for him to strike first. If we can retrieve Nico di Angelo, perhaps we can make a move ourselves." Chiron pointed to two chairs on the porch. "Wait here. I have a hunch I know _exactly_ who will want to rescue their friend." The centaur trotted away into the night, and Carl sat in one of the plastic lawn chairs.

"This feels wrong," he said. "One minute we're getting rid of a hellhound, and now we're trapped in a different time without a way to get back."

"And Dracula's here," said Gabriel, pacing around the porch. "We can't just grab the book and leave, Carl. We've got to help them."

"Are you insane?! They know what they're doing."

"No, they don't. They've never fought anyone like Dracula before."

"Remember what happened last time?"

Gabriel winced. "I try not to."

"Sorry," said Carl. "But we still need to get home. The Order are probably frantic."

"Or they're just waiting, as usual." Gabriel stopped pacing as Chiron returned, followed by the boy who'd been riding the black pegasus, a shorter boy with little horns poking out of his curly hair and goat's legs, a towering man with only one eye and the girl from before, Annabeth.

"This is Percy Jackson," said Chiron, gesturing to the pegasus boy, "His half-brother Tyson," he pointed to the Cyclops, "the satyr, Grover," he patted the horned boy on the shoulder, "and I believe you've already met Annabeth."

Gabriel dipped his head in greeting. "These are your campers who so recklessly risk their lives?" he said to Chiron.

"I assure you, they can hold their own in a fight." Chiron swished his tail and opened the door. "I'll leave you for a few minutes to get to know each other, then I believe you have an appointment with the Oracle." He stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

"I'm Percy," said the pegasus boy. "What's your name?"

"My name is Van Helsing," said Gabriel, "and this is Carl." The friar went to stand by his friend, a little nervous.

"Where do you come from?"

"Rome," said Carl. "Well, I am, at least."

Percy turned to Gabriel. "Where are you from?"

"I don't remember."

Percy left it at that. "So you're going to help us get Nico, is that right?"

"That's right."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" asked Annabeth. "I understand you two aren't from around here, and we know what we're dealing with."

"Do you."

"All we have to do is get Nico back," she said. "Sure, we could die in the process, but he's our friend. Not even Kronos is going to stand in our way."

"How about Dracula?"

"Who's Dracula?"

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "You've never heard of Dracula?"

"Dracula sounds like a curse," said the goat-boy, Grover.

"He's a curse on mankind," said the hunter. "Your bronze weapons aren't going to hurt him."

"_Celestial_ bronze," corrected Annabeth. "Monsters can't stand the stuff."

"Dracula can."

Tyson, who had been silent until then, spoke up. "Van Helsing has wings like chicken ponies."

"What?" said Percy.

Gabriel hesitated, then slid off his coat. He spread his wings, careful not to bang them into the wall of the house or the side of the porch. They only reached half their wingspan of fifteen feet before he couldn't spread them anymore, since the porch was small and crowded.

"_Di immortals_," choked Grover. "Now _that's_ something you don't see every day."

Gabriel pulled his wings in against his back, uncomfortable at all the attention.

Percy started to say something when Chiron returned.

"Percy," he said, "could you show Mr. Van Helsing to the attic? The Oracle is waiting."

__________________________________________________________________

_Me: *singing to the tune of "Here Comes Santa Clause"* Here comes Dracula, here comes Dracula-_

_Van Helsing: Stop reminding me! I'm under a lot of stress here._

_Me: Not yet, you ain't! Just wait and see what I've got planned for you... *evil laugh* _


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: The Oracle Speaks

The boy shrugged and led the way into the Big House, up the two sets of stairs to the attic. "Go on up and she'll tell you a prophecy," he said. "Don't touch anything, and don't forget what she says." The boy went back down the stairs, leaving Gabriel to go into the attic alone.

It was crammed with dust-covered Greek hero stuff. Rusting shields, armor stands, old leather steamer trunks with stickers on the sides saying things like ITHAKA, CIRCE'S ISLE, and ANCIENT SPARTA. A long table full of jars with pickled things like severed claws, eyeballs, and various other monster parts. A trophy on the wall titled HYDRA HEAD #1, WOODSTOCK, N.Y., 1969 glared at him with its snake-like glass eyes, its mouth opened in an eternal snarl of shark's teeth.

Sitting by the window on a wooden tripod stool was a mummy. Not the wrapped in cloth kind, just a shriveled female human body. She still wore a faded tie-dye sundress, several beaded necklaces, and a headband over long, dusty black hair.

Gabriel was about to go back downstairs and ask Percy exactly what the Oracle was when the mummy sat up straight on her stool.

She opened her mouth, and a swirling green mist poured out, spiraling over the floor in thick, snake-like tendrils that hissed like a thousand serpents had crawled into the attic.

_I am the spirit of Delphi_, said a voice that slithered into his mind. _Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask_.

Ask what? he thought to himself. Finally he asked, "What is my destiny?"

The mist swirled thicker before him, and suddenly a familiar woman was standing in front of him.

_You shall go to the place where the dragons once grew_, said Anna with the Oracle's rasping voice.

"Anna?" gasped Van Helsing.

She smiled. _Take a stand on the hill where flight was renewed._

"No," moaned the hunter, taking a step back. Why was she doing this? Anna...

_A half-blood's choice shall rule the fate of all. _It looked like Anna, but it wasn't her... It _couldn't_ be Anna...

_And the gods will witness the angel's last fall. _The mist started to dissolve, melting back into a last thick tendril and slithering into the mummy's mouth. She leaned back against the wall, her mouth shut tight like it hadn't opened in a century.

Xx

The campers and Carl stood up when he stepped out of the house, closing the door gently behind him.

"What did she say?" asked Annabeth.

"You shall go to the place where the dragons once grew," said Gabriel in a dull voice, "take a stand on the hill where flight was renewed. A half-blood's choice shall rule the fate of all, and the gods will witness the angel's last fall." He slumped in the chair next to Carl and buried his face in his hands.

"Did you say _dragons_?" said Grover. "I don't like dragons."

"A half-blood's choice?" said Percy uncertainly. "I really hate it when something like this happens."

"Angel?" said Annabeth. "di Angelo? Are we going to rescue Nico only to lose him?"

"Remember, we never know exactly what the prophecies mean until it's all over," said Percy. "There's still a chance."

"When do we leave?" asked Carl.

"Tonight," said Gabriel. "No point wasting our time worrying about things we can't change."

"Tonight? But we need to plan-" started Annabeth.

Gabriel cut her off. "Do you know where the dragons are?"

"I know there was a breeding ground in the mountains in Maine somewhere but-"

"Then we start there. We don't have a lot of time." Gabriel glanced up at the sky. "At the most, seven days."

"A week," said Tyson. "Seven days equals a week."

"That's correct," said Carl. "But a week? Why only a- oh. I see."

"I don't," said Annabeth. "Why do we only have a week?"

"Because in a week the moon will be full," said Carl patiently. "Werewolves only change on the full moon. And since the only way to kill Dracula is to bite him as a werewolf, we can't fight him until then."

Percy was looking from the friar to the hunter and back again. "Okay, hold up. I understand Dracula is a threat, but why do we have to kill him?"

"He's like a bad penny," said Carl. "Always popping up again at the worst time. He's been killed twice already and he just keeps coming back."

"How many lives does this guy have?"

"Too many," said Gabriel. "What have you got for weapons?"

"I've got a sword," said Percy. "Celestial bronze."

"Bronze dagger," said Annabeth.

Tyson merely raised his hands.

Grover was silent for a long while, until he realized they were all looking at him. "What?" he asked finally.

"What have you got for weapons?" repeated Van Helsing.

"Oh. Not much. A couple of tin cans?"

Carl groaned. "Even a bunch of highwaymen are better armed than this lot," he said. "All right. Where's the armory? It's time to get you armed."

Xx

"Now this is more like it!" Carl rubbed his hands together gleefully. He dove into the piles of weaponry, occasionally holding up a piece before throwing over his shoulder and nearly decapitating the others several times.

"Is he always like this?" asked Percy, ducking as a twisted bronze dagger soared over his head.

"Pretty much," said Gabriel.

Carl stood up, an indignant look on his face. "Don't you have any silver around here?"

"Silver?" repeated Annabeth. "We never had a need for it."

"You do now," said Van Helsing. "Carl! Any crossbows in there?"

"None that would work," complained Carl. "They're all practically medieval! Give me a laboratory and three months and I could make you a good one, but with _this_?! Impossible!"

Gabriel sighed. "Just find something for the childre- uh, campers."

A minute later Carl sighed loudly. "No silver whatsoever," he reported. "Just a bunch of bronze."

"Where can we find silver?" asked the hunter, turning to Annabeth.

"There are some silver candlesticks in the Big House," she said slowly. "But I don't think Chiron would appreciate us melting them down."

"Too bad. Where are they?"

"I'll get them." Annabeth ran for the Big House, and Gabriel turned to Percy.

"Have you got a forge?"

The half-blood grinned. "You bet! Tyson, get the fire going, would you?" The Cyclops nodded and headed deeper into the camp. "Anything else?"

Gabriel shook his head. "I think that's it... no. Got any extra bronze?"

Confused, Percy nodded. "Certainly. Why?"

"I doubt silver bullets are going to bother your monsters... Bronze seems a better option."

__________________________________________________________________

_Me: Sorry, Gabriel. A little emotional torture here and there is all part of the script._

_Van Helsing: *growls* How _could_ you?! My beautiful Anna..._

_Me: How could I? Quite easily, actually. The words are flowing from the keyboard... Anyways, this is a confusing fanfic about confused characters, so we'll just throw a few wrenches into the mix, shall we? _


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Summons Away

Tyson had just finished cooling the last silver dagger when a mist started to hover over the surface of the water. A familiar face appeared.

"Tyson?"

"Daddy!" Tyson waved at Poseidon, showing him the silver dagger. "The man with chicken pony wings said to make silver daggers, so I make silver daggers! Do you like them?"

Poseidon looked confused for a moment then smiled. "Oh! You mean Van Helsing. Yes, they're wonderful daggers. Tyson, I need you to come back to the forges."

"What?"

"I need you back at my forges. We're short on magic swords, and short on capable hands to make them."

"But Tyson was going to help Percy and Annabeth-"

"You _will_ be helping them," said Poseidon. "Just from a distance."

"All right. I'm coming. Bye, Daddy."

Poseidon waved a hand over the Iris-message and faded from view.

"Tyson? Who were you talking to?" asked Annabeth, stepping into the forge.

"Daddy says to come to the forges in the sea," said Tyson.

"Better tell Percy."

"Tell Percy what?" asked Percy, entering the room.

Tyson told him about the Iris-message, and the half-blood boy frowned. "You can't come with us?"

The Cyclops shook his head. "Sorry, Percy."

Percy gave him a hug. "It's all right, Tyson. Be careful, you hear?"

"Yep! Here are pretty silver daggers Tyson made for Birdman."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow as he entered the forge as Tyson was leaving, loading his gun with the bronze bullets Grover had found for him. "So now I'm Birdman?"

Carl stifled a laugh and sheathed the silver daggers in makeshift leather sheaths he'd made. "Don't take it too personally," he said. "He called my robes blankets."

Annabeth stabbed an invisible foe with her silver dagger experimentally before sheathing it. "Is there a special way to kill vampires I haven't read about?" she asked.

"Stab them through the heart. Anywhere else will just make them madder." Gabriel holstered his gun and pulled his coat closer against the rush of cold air that swirled in with Grover as he scrambled into the forge.

"The horses are ready," he panted. "It took a bit to convince them to let us ride them for that far, but I did it!"

"How many?"

The satyr looked around. "Where's Tyson?"

"He just left," said Percy. "Dad wanted him in the forges."

"Ah. One less horse, then." Grover turned back to Gabriel. "What did you say?"

"How. Many. Horses?"

"Well, not including Tyson's, we have..." he counted off on his fingers, "Five."

"Do we really need that many?"

"If you collapse from exhaustion from flying too long, we will," said Carl. "I'm guessing they're more used to long-distance trips in the air than you are."

"Good point. One last problem."

"What?"

"What are we going to eat?"

Annabeth shrugged. "We can always stop in stores to get food," she said. "'We' meaning me and Percy, and maybe Carl. I don't know about wherever you come from, but men walking around with wings is _not_ normal."

Gabriel took a deep breath, trying to keep his temper under control. "Can we go, then?"

Grover led the way back to the stables, where six pegasi of various size and color were waiting impatiently. The big black one Gabriel had seen the day before struck out with one foreleg, his sharp black hoof striking sparks on the cement floor.

"Yes, we're going, Blackjack," said Percy to the black pegasus as he swung onto the pegasus' back. Annabeth used the mounting block to climb onto her own palamino-colored pegasus. Grover sat on the dappled grey, Carl took the bay, leaving a white and another grey unmounted.

Percy seemed to be able to understand them, and he said, "No, Tyson isn't coming." Pause. "No, you still have to come." The grey headed for its stall while the white stamped its hooves impatiently.

"Are we ready?" said Annabeth.

Gabriel removed his coat and folded it, handing it and his black hat to Carl and spreading his wings. The pegasi reared back in surprise.

_You can fly, lord_? said a female voice in his head. Van Helsing stopped, confused.

The white pegasus tossed her head. _I said, you can fly_?

"I can fly," answered Gabriel.

_Show me_.

Gabriel ran out of the stable and took a running leap off the cement. His wings snapped out to catch him and he wheeled through the air, rising on the air currents.

The pegasi joined him, whinnying in surprise and awe. The white pegasus followed Gabriel, showing him a few tricks on how to fly easier.

Then they got down to business and streaked through the air to the north, towards Maine.

Xx

Carl clung to the grey's mane, eyes squeezed shut. "Tell me when it's over!" he yelled over the wind roaring in their ears.

Gabriel laughed, flying hard to keep up with the racing pegasi. "It's not as bad is it looks, Carl! Open your eyes!"

The friar opened one eye, shrieked, and buried his face in his pegasus' mane. "Wrong! It's worse!"

Gabriel gave a whoop of exhilaration and executed a spin-dive, tucking in his wings and spinning at high speeds towards the earth. At the last minute he arced out of the dive and sped straight up behind them, returning to his spot next to Carl.

"Stop it! You're making me feel sick," moaned the friar, and Gabriel laughed.

"So you _were_ looking!" he said. "I thought so."

Annabeth laughed at the look on Carl's face, then sobered. "We'd better land," she called through the whistling wind. "The pegasi are getting tired."

Sure enough, Gabriel found he was slowing down to match the pegasi's speed. "Where?"

Percy pointed down. "Just land!"

Gabriel dropped, spreading his wings about fifty feet before he landed to slow down. Still, he fell to all fours, scrambling to his feet and moving out of the way so the pegasi could land.

_You need to work on your landings_, said the white pegasus as she landed, folding her wings against her back.

"I know," he said. "I haven't been flying for long."

_I'll give you some tips_.

"Thanks."

"You can talk to the pegasi?" asked Percy, sliding off of Blackjack. The black pegasus shook his wings before folding them.

Gabriel gestured at the white pegasus. "I can hear her, at least."

"Hmm." Percy didn't elaborate, so Gabriel didn't press him.

The hunter sat down in the grass, pulling his wings in tight. His back still hurt, but not as badly.

"How far is it to the breeding grounds?" asked Carl, handing the black duster to Gabriel, who draped it over his shoulders and wings.

"It's another five hours," said Annabeth. "At the speed we're going, maybe less."

Carl was looking a little green. "Straight flying?"

"With a few rest breaks," said Annabeth.

Grover patted his pegasus and left it to graze, joining the other four in the grass. "Are you sure we're going the right way?" he asked.

"Positive," said Annabeth confidently. "I know where we are."

"Where are we, then?" Gabriel sprawled on his stomach in the grass with a wince. Carl gave him a concerned glance, which he ignored.

Annabeth smiled. "We're in the October Mountain State Forest," she said. "It's the biggest state forest in Massachusetts!"

"Where and what is Massachusetts?"

"A state. We've only got to get through the other half of Massachusetts and then through New Hampshire. Then we hit the Maine border."

Carl held up a hand to stop her fountain of words. "I missed half of what you said because I didn't understand, and I probably don't want to. The only question I want answered is how far and how long are we from our destination?"

"If we only take short breaks, we'll be there before dusk tomorrow," she said, gesturing at the rising sun. "And we're running out of time."

Gabriel sprang to his feet, wings raised as if he was about to take flight. "Someone's coming!"

The campers and Carl ran for the pegasi, mounting in record time. The pegasi started to take off, the wind from their wings buffeting the ground.

"Oh, my God!" shrieked a female voice, and Gabriel turned, seeing a human girl standing at the edge of the trees. "Those horses have wings!"

"Oh, dammit," he spat, launching himself into the air and speeding after his friends, hearing the girl's frightened shouts echoing in his ears.

And a strange clicking noise...

__________________________________________________________________

_Me: Ha! Another chapter finished!_

_Van Helsing: Now write another one._

_Me: Spoilsport. This is the most research I've ever done for a fanfic..._

_Van Helsing: Researching what?_

_Me: Details, eye color, geography, trivia, Latin... All that boring stuff you see in fanfics and take for granted. It takes _work_, people!_

_Van Helsing: Need some help?_

_Me: No. I do need you to be a little nicer to the childre- I mean, campers. Being a know-it-all is not helping._

_Van Helsing: I wasn't being a know-it-all! If anyone was being a know-it-all, it was that kid Annabeth-_

_Me: That'll do for now, Gabriel. Now put a sock in it before I decide to seriously injure you later in the story._

_Van Helsing: *mimes putting a sock in mouth and choking on it*_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: Speak of the Devil

"Did they see us?" Annabeth twisted around in her seat, peering back the way they'd come.

"Yes," said Gabriel, slowing down as he caught up. "What makes a clicking noise and flashes lights?"

"What- Oh my gods! A camera!"

"You have cameras?" asked Carl.

"Duh," said Annabeth. "This is not good. If they plaster our faces all over the newspapers, we're dead. It's like putting up a neon sign saying _Here we are, monsters_! _Come eat us_!"

"I take it that's a bad thing?"

"You got it. Percy! Can we go any faster?"

The half-blood boy shrugged and asked Blackjack. This time Gabriel heard the pegasus answer.

_Sure thing, boss_! _But make sure nobody falls behind, okay_? The black pegasus reared in the air, raising his wings in defiance before bolting forward far faster than they'd been going before. The other pegasi raced to stay with him, and Gabriel found himself struggling to keep up.

After half an hour of keeping up the grueling pace, Blackjack finally slowed down.

_Don't think... we can go much... farther, boss_, he panted. _Gotta... take a... break_!

"Sure, Blackjack. Find someplace to land." Percy patted the pegasus's sweaty black neck.

Gabriel landed on all fours and collapsed in a heap, completely exhausted. The pegasi landed and dislodged their riders, trotting a few steps away before starting to graze. Carl breathed a sigh of relief as he staggered a few steps to sit down next to Gabriel.

"I never want to fly again," he said. "At least not at that speed."

"Let's hope not," panted Gabriel, eyes closed. "Once was enough."

Grover was looking a little green. "Is it possible to get airsick on a pegasus?"

_Not unless you want to be bucked off_! said the satyr's dappled grey.

Percy relayed the message to Grover, who paled. "I won't get sick, then," he said.

"I hope not," said Annabeth. "We're off-track. We veered too far to the east."

"You can say that again," said Percy. "We're near the ocean."

"The ocean?" repeated Gabriel.

"The Atlantic Ocean," said Annabeth exasperatedly. "We're practically in Portsmouth!"

"Is that good or bad?"

"Good, I suppose, but there's been stories going around about a mass breakout of Stymphalian birds."

Gabriel sighed. "And what, may I ask, are those?"

Percy turned pale and pointed towards the trees behind them. "Those!"

Gabriel was on his feet in an instant, spinning around to see the huge flock of pigeons flying towards them.

"Pigeons?" said Carl.

"Not!" Annabeth ducked as they swarmed the group, making the pegasi abruptly take to flight. "Watch out for the beaks!" She swiped at a bird with her bronze dagger, and it gave an eerie clang against the bird's bill.

"What in hellfire..." Gabriel lashed out at the pigeons mobbing him and wincing when his fist connected with a bronze beak. He sharply raised his wings, buffeting the pigeons away from them.

But not for long. They got over their first initial shock and starting dive-bombing them again with triple the fury, slashing and tearing with beaks and claws.

"How do you kill them?" yelled Gabriel.

"Slice them in half! We've fought them before." Annabeth stabbed one of the birds trying to peck Grover's horns from his head and it exploded into a flash of feathers and dust.

"How did you get rid of them?"

"We used one of Chiron's CDs and put his boombox on high!"

Gabriel groaned. "What is that?"

"It's a music box!"

"A music box..." Gabriel took flight, smacking the Stymphalian birds away. "Carl! Where's that thing you had that drove Cardinal Jinette up the wall?"

"Oh! Yes, yes." Carl dug around in his robes while Gabriel kept him clear of pigeons. "Here it is!" He held up a small instrument that looked like a pennywhistle.

"BLOW IT!!" Gabriel was being forced to the ground, starting to be overwhelmed by sheer numbers. The others were in the same boat.

Carl raised it to his lips and blew, moving his fingers over the holes in a quick, staccato rhythm.

The loudest, most piercing noise he had ever heard assaulted Gabriel's ears, and he yelled, falling to the ground. The Stymphalian birds screamed, flying around and twitching. They abandoned the clearing and flew skywards, leaving the friends to recover.

"Oh, my gods," said Annabeth. "That was incredible."

"Why, thank you," said Carl, returning the whistle to his pocket. "I _am_ a genius, you know."

"If you don't say so yourself."

"Oh, I did say so myself. I must say, I almost prefer baby vampires to _those_ things. Almost." Carl brushed a few loose feathers from his coat and picked one up, frowning. "This isn't a pigeon feather..."

"That's mine," said Gabriel.

"Hmm," said Carl, and pocketed it. "Now that that's over...?"

"We keep moving," said Annabeth, shaking dust off of her shirt. "We were unprepared."

Gabriel remembered someone else saying that to him, not so long ago...

"_I was unprepared. It won't happen again_." _Anna tapped him on the chest with her saber before sheathing it_.

Now _Anna_beth was saying near the same thing...

"Van Helsing?" said Annabeth. "Van Helsing!" she repeated, this time more forcefully.

Gabriel blinked. "What? Oh, sorry." He followed the others to where the pegasi had landed.

They were prancing nervously in place, clearly unsettled by the attack.

_Why did they attack us, lord_? asked one of them to Percy.

"I don't know," he answered. "We just were talking about them and-"

"Speak of the Devil and he will appear," said Gabriel.

"What?" said Percy and Grover at the same time.

"It's an old saying," said Carl. "If you speak of the Devil, he will appear. I don't know if it's true or not but-"

"It's like speaking of the Kindly Ones," said Annabeth slowly. "They will appear. Names are not to be used lightly."

"It seems we were using them a little too lightly ourselves," said Carl. "This _is_ a strange place."

The campers had mounted their pegasi, and Carl quickly mounted as well. "Van Helsing," said the friar, "maybe you should ride for a bit."

Gabriel shook his head and spread his wings. "Not yet," he said.

Carl opened his mouth to protest, but the pegasi were already taking off. The hunter followed, keeping an eye out for any more of the Stymphalian birds, but none appeared. It was as if they had melted away to nothing...

Xx

_Five days later_.

"There it is," said Annabeth, pointing towards the towering structure set on the top of a hill above the trees. "Some idiot brought a castle here from Romania and didn't take very good care of it. The dragons took over, but the owner of the castle eventually drove them out, thinking they were overgrown lizards. Of course, he couldn't explain the scorch marks on the walls or a perpetual stench of brimstone..."

Carl gaped. "Unbelievable!" he gasped. "It's-"

"Castle Dracula!" Gabriel forgot to keep his wings spread and dropped several feet before recovering. "Oh, my God."

"Castle Dracula?" said Percy. "I thought Dracula was a vampire."

"He is," said Carl. "That's his castle. I believe the correct term used was 'an icy fortress from which there was no return'... but how did it get here?"

The pegasi landed about twenty yards from the massive front doors, which were cracked and thrown wide, like the mouth of a hungry, starving predator.

"Look at the architecture!" exclaimed Annabeth. "It's amazing. I've never seen anything like it."

Unlike the last time Van Helsing and Carl had gone to Castle Dracula, the stonework was covered in vines and birds' nests perched in cracks. Gone was the snow and ice that had smothered the gothic structure; now it looked more like one of the many castles of Ireland. It was almost serene...

If it wasn't for all the memories it recalled.

Carl glanced at Gabriel nervously, wondering how his friend would react. When the hunter only followed the campers through the castle doors and down the steps deeper into the citadel, the friar had no choice but to go after them.

No fires burned in the raised braziers. None of the offspring that had hung on the ceiling remained from the experiments Dracula and Igor had tried. A warm wind whistled through chinks in the walls, creating an ghostly soundtrack as they moved through the castle.

They climbed the stairs up to the east tower and stopped as they entered the assembled laboratory. The ruined equipment had been cleared away, stacked in neat piles in plastic containers by the walls. The glass in the windows had been replaced, but broken again... by something big.

Grover picked something up from the ground and showed it to the others. "A dragon scale," he said. "A _big_ dragon."

The scale was the size of his palm, a glittering red that changed colour when you tilted it. It shone in the late afternoon sunlight streaming in from the windows, seeming on fire.

"That's interesting," said Carl. "How big do you think the dragon was?"

Gabriel gestured wordlessly to the far side of the laboratory, and the rest of the group gave a collective gasp.

­­­­­­­­­­_____________________________________________________________

_Me: *whistling innocently*_

_Van Helsing: You did that on purpose, didn't you?_

_Me: Of course! The more cliffies the better..._


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: Dragon's Breath

"Oh, my gods," said Annabeth. "It's a dragon!"

"_Was_ a dragon," said Carl. "See? It's just a skeleton."

"It shouldn't be here," said Percy. "Monsters vanish when they're killed."

Gabriel went up to the skeleton warily, wings poised to take him away if the dead creature decided to move. The milky white bones, bleached in some places and not in other due to the uneven light, lay against the stone wall, as if the dragon had tried to crawl away from something...

The hunter turned, looking back. Black marks marred the walls...

"Dragon's breath has scoured these walls," he said. "It was fighting something..." Gabriel followed the direction of the scorches, stopping when he came to large claw marks on the stone floor. "What made these?"

Annabeth shrugged, coming up behind him. "Something bigger," she said.

"The skeleton's ribs are broken... It wasn't trying to get away at all!" Gabriel took a running leap and climbed onto the walkway high above them. "It was thrown." The hunter moved further down the walkway, leaning over the railing. "The other dragon was fighting for something... Ah. I see. Look over there."

"Where?" Carl spun in a circle, looking towards where Gabriel was pointing. "What's that?"

"_Take a stand on the hill where flight was renewed_," said Gabriel. "The ledge. I'm betting there was a female dragon nearby. The two dragons fighting were male, trying to win her favor."

"Well, it makes sense," said Annabeth. "This _is_ a breeding ground."

Gabriel tapped the railing absently as he thought. "Grover," he finally said, "was there any dust on that scale you found?"

"No..."

Gabriel jumped off the walkway and spread his wings to slow his fall. Once he landed, he hurried over to the others. "I know why. It's a new scale."

"A new scale?" repeated Carl.

"There's another dragon," said Percy. Then he realized what he'd said. "But they were driven off!"

"They came back," said Gabriel. "At least, one did."

"Where is it, then?" Annabeth spun in a circle. "I don't see any dragons."

"Probably hunting," said Carl. "They do need to eat, you know."

"Yes, I suppose they do," said a voice behind them, and they spun around.

"Hello, Gabriel," said Count Vladislaus Dracula with a smile. "Lose something?" He held up a leather-bound book.

"The book!" hissed Carl.

A deep, rumbling laugh echoed through the tower. A dragon, twice as big as the skeleton on the far wall, threw back its head and laughed again, its brilliant red scales flickering in the light. "Welcome to my summer palace," it said in a deep voice that sounded like fire itself.

Grover gulped and drew his silver dagger. "How did you say we kill him?"

"Not until the sun sets," said Gabriel, glancing up at the orange light filtering in through the windows. "Give it a few minutes."

"You can't kill me," said Dracula, stepping towards them with the dragon following. A thousand vampires, half-bloods, and various monsters stepped out of the lengthening shadows, surrounding them completely. "I'm already dead."

The companions were forced together, back to back in a circle of monsters. Suddenly they parted, creating a pathway for Kronos.

The Titan lord smirked at them, coming to stand beside Dracula. He was holding his scythe, the six-foot two-metal blade glinting eerily in the orange light, in one hand; in the other he held a celestial bronze chain. Gabriel followed the length of chain with his eyes, stopping where it ended, attached to the manacles around a black-haired boy's wrists. He glared at his captor with dark eyes, and those eyes widened when he saw the hunter and his companions.

"You shouldn't have come!" he cried, tugging uselessly against the chains that bound him.

"Nico!" Annabeth held a dagger in each hand, bronze in her right and silver in her left. The others followed suit, unsheathing their weapons.

Out of the corner of his eye Gabriel saw Percy pull a ball-point pen out of his pocket and uncap it. It changed into a full-length bronze sword, glowing slightly in the gathering dark. Then the half-blood boy pulled out his silver dagger.

"You think you can get your half-blood friend back?" said Kronos, smiling evilly when he saw the look on Annabeth's face. "This body suits me, don't you think?"

"It isn't Luke, Annabeth," said Percy. "It isn't Luke, it's Kronos."

Carl started to ask who Luke was when a vampire hissed at him. He yelped, jumping backwards and bumping into Gabriel, who staggered forwards, spreading his wings to stop himself from falling.

Dracula raised an eyebrow. "Found your wings, have you, Gabriel?" he said. "Pity. You were so much easier to fight on the ground."

Kronos looked confused. "Who is this, Count?" he asked. "You told me of no winged creature."

"We play by different rules, Kronos," said Gabriel, feeling his blood begin to grow hot. "And another thing Dracula probably didn't mention... we all have weaknesses." The light of the full moon poured through the window as it rose in the night sky, and he threw back his head and roared, growing in size as he changed into a huge black werewolf.

Only this time, the werewolf had wings.

Carl backed up quickly, pulling the half-bloods and the satyr with him. "Don't get too close," he warned them.

Kronos frowned. "This complicates things a bit," he said. "No matter. Kill them."

"With pleasure," said Dracula.

The army of Kronos yelled battle cries and ran forwards, expecting an easy kill. What they weren't expecting were the vampires to start shrieking and crumbling into dust as they were stabbed in the heart by silver blades. The half-bloods were more battle-hardy than they had expected!

The dragon watched for a moment, then leaned down and bit through the bronze chain binding Nico. "It's about time you joined your friends," he rumbled.

Nico di Angelo gave the dragon a smile and a thumbs up before drawing his Stygian blade and joining the fight.

Kronos raised his scythe and yelled something in Ancient Greek, and the flock of Stymphalian birds from before mobbed through the broken windows, pecking at anything they could get their beaks on. Kelli leapt at Gabriel, her mismatched legs propelling her far faster than could be thought. She bared her long fangs, and he snarled at her.

Carl blew his pennywhistle invention again, sending the Stymphalian bids nuts. They stopped attacking just the companions and started attacking Kronos' army as well, wheeling through the air like mad bronze-tipped arrows.

Percy, Annabeth and Grover made a triangle back to back, fending off monsters as fast as they could. They couldn't hold up forever...

Kelli jumped onto Gabriel's back, lowering her fangs to his throat. Before she could bite him, however, he spread his grey-tinged wings and flew to the tower ceiling. Unable to grip well, the _empousa_ fell, landing in front of Carl.

"Ahh!" he yelled, stabbing her with the bronze dirk he'd found in the armory and brought along, just in case. Good thing, too. Kelli screamed, exploding into a sandy firework and melting away.

"Yeesh," said Carl. "Now I know why I left the field work to Van Helsing."

Dracula growled, dropping the leather-bound book and changed into his hell-based form, flying after his enemy. The two grappled above the fighting below, crashing into walls and roaring. Dracula was more careful this time, leaving his energy to avoiding Gabriel's fangs instead of trying to convince the werewolf to join his side. This time he wasn't planning on dying.

Annabeth looked up, seeing their companion locked in battle. They were losing ground... Now they were backed up against the wall close the dragon's skeleton.

Nico slashed at a vampire frantically, backing away from her continual onslaught. "Why won't she die?" he yelled over the sounds of battle.

"Stab her with silver!" Carl yelled back. "Through the heart! Through the heart!"

Gabriel vaguely heard his friends and the noise of battle... the wolf side of his senses were overwhelming, focusing fully on his enemy. Dracula bared his teeth menacingly, crouching on the walkway where Van Helsing had been standing earlier.

"You will never win," he growled. "I've had hundreds of years to think of ways to kill you."

The werewolf snarled, but stayed where it was on the walkway, panting. Dracula looked at him, confused. "That's a first," he said.

Gabriel howled, long and loud, and the combatants below stopped fighting for a moment to stare up at him. Then they continued their fighting.

The red dragon dragged his claws across the stone wall, sharpening them. "Time to turn the tide," he roared, diving into a mass of vampires and half-bloods. Dust flew as his silver claws decimated the ranks, his spiked tail sending half-bloods flying into the walls.

Dracula changed back into his man-form, leaning over the railing to see the dragon turncoat. "How _dare_ you," he started to snarl, then choked as werewolf jaws clamped down on his throat. "NO!!"

But it was too late. For the third time, Dracula slumped to the floor, black blood pouring from his neck and mouth. His flesh melted from his skeleton, leaving the blackened bones crumpled on the walkway.

Kronos saw the red dragon start attacking his army. Saw Dracula fall. Saw the vampires explode into dust. Saw his dreams of success failing... all because of two half-bloods, a satyr, a strange-dressed little man and a winged werewolf.

The Titan lord started chanting in Ancient Greek, summoning wraiths and ghosts to fight. He summoned the water from the trees, the wind from the night air, the animals from the forest. And with everything he summoned, his army grew stronger.

Gabriel saw his friends fall back, backs against the stone wall. They were losing. They were unprepared...

The werewolf saw more creatures pour in from the windows, and saw Kronos chanting. _Kill him_, growled the wolf, _feel his blood drain from his body to drip onto the floor_-

Gabriel growled low in his throat and lunged, his wings giving him added speed. He snatched the Titan lord in his front claws and flew up, higher and higher to the top of the tower...

A dark cloud slid across the moon.

__________________________________________________

_Me: Uh oh... I think we're in trouble._

_Van Helsing: You think? _


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: Fall of an Angel

Gabriel felt the wolf recede, and suddenly the man in his arms was heavy. So very, very heavy. He strained to keep aloft, wings beating hard in an effort not to lose altitude.

"You will die," said Kronos, eyes glinting. He chanted more in Ancient Greek, and more clouds covered the moon. "You will fall."

The gods, feeling their elements disturbed, were arriving, appearing in the sky above them. Gabriel noticed their presence, and in that moment he knew.

"_And the gods shall witness the angel's last fall_," he murmured, and pulled in his wings.

"Van Helsing, _no_!" Carl saw his friend pull in his wings, falling. "Don't, dammit!"

The half-bloods ran. With a resounding _crack_, Gabriel and Kronos crashed to the stone floor of the tower.

Neither moved.

The monsters summoned by Kronos vanished, the half-bloods following him ran. The dragon, having no enemies of which to fight, landed, curling his tail around his paws. Annabeth, Percy, Nico, Grover and Carl lowered their weapons and ran to the fallen forms.

"Van Helsing?" Carl knelt beside his friend. "Don't you dare on die on me!"

Annabeth had tears running down her face, and she turned away from the broken body Kronos had inhabited. She knelt next to Carl, inspecting the hunter's wounds. "His wings are broken," she finally said, her voice surprisingly steady. "And he's lost a lot of blood."

Percy called for the pegasi, and they came, prancing nervously.

_I can smell blood_, Blackjack said to Percy. _Blood and monsters_.

"Lianna, come here," was all the half-blood said, and the white pegasus followed him. "Carl, Grover, help me lift him. Annabeth, hold his wings."

Nico watched, feeling a heavy weight of guilt settle on his shoulders. He picked up the leather-bound book from the floor where Dracula had dropped it, wishing he hadn't been captured. Then none of this would have happened...

Xx

The residents of Camp Half-Blood gathered in the amphitheater. A body lay on the funeral pyre the campers had built, covered in a grey shroud with the blue caduceus, symbol of Hermes.

"Luke Castellan was a brave half-blood," said Chiron from his perch at the top of the stairs in front of the table. "Kronos played on his fears, convincing him to leave Camp Half-Blood and join the Titan lord's forces. He helped the Titan lord return from Tartarus; gave him his body to inhabit in this world. In the end, he was killed like any other monster we have fought. But unlike those monsters, he was a good friend, and he will be missed." Chiron stepped back, turning to face the two men seated at the table behind him. "Mr. Van Helsing?"

Gabriel stood, careful not to knock his wings against the back of his chair. He took a deep breath, feeling the eyes of the satyrs, campers and Carl boring into him, waiting.

"Once I met a beautiful woman," he finally said, and everyone was quiet to hear his words. "She was strong, intelligent, willful, and I loved her. She said to me, 'Do you understand forgiveness?'. I don't know your gods very well, I only know my God. What He teaches is to forgive... to let go of anger, of hate. To love your enemies. That's difficult, especially if your enemy takes everything you love from you." Gabriel stopped, taking a moment to get control of his emotions. Then he continued, "Can you forgive Luke for what he's done? Forgive a boy who acted in anger, eyes clouded by the twisted words of a monster? Forgive the people around you? Your parents. Your friends. Forgive _yourself_. Can you do that?"

The campers nodded silently, faces solemn. Gabriel sighed and sat down. He hated doing speeches because he never knew what to say, but this time it seemed easier.

Carl patted his shoulder comfortingly and the two friends watched as Annabeth lit the funeral pyre.

Xx

Van Helsing and Carl accompanied Annabeth, Percy, Grover, Tyson, and Nico to Los Angeles, to the Underworld. Charon was still sitting at his desk, looking bored.

"Not you again," he said when he saw Annabeth and Percy. "You've caused enough trouble for a lifetime."

Nico stepped forwards. "We're going to see my father," he said, and Charon blinked.

"Say again?" he said. "I thought I heard you say, 'my father'. I'm sorry, kiddo, your father's dead."

"My father is Hades."

Charon raised an eyebrow. "Is he, now?"

Nico started chanting in a low voice, and the spirits around them in the rest of the lobby started pacing more anxiously. A crack appeared in the floor, and the spirits were all sucked through, down to the judgment tables. The crack closed, and the lobby was empty, save for Charon and the living.

"All right, so maybe you are the son of Hades," said Charon, looking a little miffed now that his lobby was empty of souls to keep waiting for thousands of years. "So what? He doesn't see anyone."

"He'll see us," said Nico confidently. "Now open the door."

Charon came out from behind his desk, grumbling, but he opened the door that led into darkness. "Hurry up," he said. "Don't forget to die." He slammed the door behind them, muttering rudely.

Nico made sure they were all seated securely on the barge before he started guiding it across the River Styx. On the other side, they disembarked, and the barge moved by itself back to the opposite shore.

"Through here," said Nico, pointing down a corridor. "Past Cerberus."

When they approached, the huge, three-headed, mostly invisible purebred Rottweiler looked up and started to whine.

Nico opened his mouth to command it aside, but Annabeth laid a hand on his arm.

"Let me do this," she said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out...

A red rubber ball.

"Here, Cerberus," she called, walking up to the beast. "Remember me? I promised to bring you another ball, didn't I? Fetch!" She threw the ball, and three heads turned to chase it. "Good boy!"

"It's a giant three-headed dog," said Carl, eyes wide. "Is it going to eat us?"

"No," said Annabeth, edging around the giant dog. "But it will if you don't hurry."

Her companions ducked under Cerberus's belly, running past his large paws and into the Fields of Asphodel.

Past the Fields, they entered the Garden of Persephone, avoiding the fruit trees loaded with pomegranates and various other fruits. Carl reached out to pluck one and Percy knocked his hand away.

"One bite of anything in here and you'll never leave," he warned, and after that the friar kept his hands to himself.

Inside the palace, everything was black. Smooth black stone made the pillars, the wall, the high curved ceiling, the slickly polished floor. Even the flames in the torches set along the walls were lighted with a grey, flickering light.

"Father?" called Nico. "I'm home."

Hades looked up from his throne. "Nico?" He leapt from his throne and ran to his son, embracing him. "Thank you," he said to the others. "Thank you so much."

"Actually, it was mostly Van Helsing who got Nico back," said Annabeth. Gabriel started to protest, but she kept talking. "If he hadn't killed Kronos, we'd all be dead, and the only son you'd have would be a dead one."

"You?" said Hades, turning to Gabriel. "You saved my son?"

"Well, technically we all did-"

"Kronos and Dracula have been returned to my hold in Tartarus," said Hades. "It was not they who killed them. Was it you?"

"Yes, but-"

Hades raised a hand, and Gabriel fell silent. "Is there something you want?" he asked the hunter. "Name it, and it's yours."

Gabriel stared at him for a moment. "You mean...?"

Hades nodded solemnly. "Is there someone you want back?"

"Could you- could you really-?"

"Name the guy, and he's yours."

A smile tugged at Van Helsing's mouth. "You'd bring_ her_ back? Anna Valerious?"

"This Anna Valerious?" Hades waved a hand, and a woman slowly materialized beside them.

"Anna," breathed Gabriel.

"I guess she's the right one," said Hades.

Anna shook her head, confused, then saw Gabriel. "Van Helsing?"

"Anna!" Gabriel ran to her and picked her up, spinning the Transylvanian princess in a circle. "Anna, Anna, Anna!"

"Oh, Van Helsing..." She kissed him full on the mouth, and Hades sighed.

"What I wouldn't give to have _my_ wife kiss me like that," he said.

Nico gave him a Look. "Maybe we should leave."

"You're right." Hades and Nico exited the throne room, motioning for the others to follow them out and let Gabriel and Anna catch up on things.

Xx

"Go on, Van Helsing, fly!" Anna waved her hand at the pegasi winging lazily high above them. "You can do it, I know you can."

"It's not that simple," said Gabriel, but Anna interrupted him.

"You have _wings_, Gabriel. Use them."

Gabriel gritted his teeth and spread his wings, wincing when his sore muscles complained. Thanks to the werewolf venom, he healed faster, and the bones broken in his fall were now healed.

"Fly," said Anna. "Show me."

Gabriel raised his wings reluctantly, feeling the breeze rustle his feathers. He slowly crouched, then sprang, bringing his wings down hard to lift himself up. It was wobbly at first, then he regained his confidence and wheeled through the air, rising on the eddying wind.

Anna smiled, watching him fly. What it would be like to have wings, to fly higher than anyone...

Gabriel abruptly swooped down and caught her in his arms, carrying her high into the sky, past the pegasi. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held tight, laughing.

"That was incredible!" she said as they landed. "I don't see why you wouldn't do it."

Gabriel grinned at her sheepishly. "Maybe I was afraid," he said.

"Of what?"

"Falling again."

Anna sat in the sand, patting the ground next to her, and he sat. "Gabriel," she said, "what was it that you told me? _The gods shall witness the angel's last fall_? Were you not paying attention?"

"To what?"

"The angel's _last_ fall."

"Oh..."

Anna smiled, leaning over and kissing him again. "I still can't believe you have wings," she said, sliding her arm around Van Helsing's waist.

Gabriel smiled down at her, absently fondling a lock of her soft, curly hair. "Neither can I," he murmured in her ear, "but what I can't believe more is I have you back."

Their kiss was interrupted when Carl yelled, "I FOUND IT!"

"Found what?" asked Gabriel, standing and pulling Anna up with him.

"The incantation!" said Carl happily, waving the book and pointing at the page. "The one to send us home!"

"Carl, hold a moment-" Gabriel started towards him, but the friar was already reading it out.

"Transporto nos ad nostrum domus universitas," he read, and there was a flash of brilliant light.

The gulls wheeled above the beach, their confused cries mingling with the roar of the sea.

FIN.

___________________________________________________________

_Me: Well. I can't believe it. It's all over..._

_Carl: No, it's not._

_Me: What the heck are you doing here?!_

_Carl: *miffed* Excuse me! Van Helsing is off with Anna, so I thought you'd like some company._

_Me: Hmph. Well, if you're here, tell them what you said in Latin._

_Carl: It means "Send us to our home world", or something close to it._

_Me: You were lazy and used the Latin/English reverting site, didn't you?_

_Carl: *nervous look in eyes*_

_Me: I thought so. Anyways, the prophecy is fulfilled... _

You shall go to the place where the dragons once grew.

_Castle Dracula, where the dragons once lived. And did anyone notice the unintended pun? Dracula's ring has the symbol of a dragon on it..._

Take a stand on the hill where flight was renewed.

_Baby dragons! I love them..._

A half-blood's choice shall rule the fate of all.

_This line was sort of a vague reference to Luke's choice to join Kronos. _

And the gods shall witness the angel's last fall.

_Hah! It's a little obvious. Gabriel fell, and duh, he's an angel reincarnate. _

_Me: I like happy endings._

_Carl: You do? *ducks as pencil flies across the room at his head*_

_Me: Duh! Now I've got to go think of something else to write... VAN HELSING! ANNA! A little help here! _


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Crazy friar... HE KNEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Epilogue: Wrong Year, Angel Feather

_A flash of brilliant light_.

Silence.

"Where are we?" whispered Anna.

"SHH!" hissed a dozen voices.

Their eyes adjusted to the low candlelight, and they saw...

A church?

Dozens of heads around them were bowed in prayer, festive decorations on the edge of the pews, on the windowsills, and hanging from the chandeliers. Then the priest at the altar started to speak again in Latin, and the congregation sat up straight.

Suddenly a bell tolled in the distance, and the six-year-old little boy sitting in front of Anna, Carl, and Van Helsing tugged at his father's sleeve.

"Father, every time a bell rings another angel gets his wings," he said quietly.

"That's foolish," said the boy's father. Something about the voices were familiar to Van Helsing... "There's no such thing, Gabriel."

Anna and Carl stared at the boy, jaws dropped. Van Helsing frowned. Something was nagging at his memory...

"Carl," said Anna, "wrong year."

"Yes, yes," said Carl, opening the book and flipping through the pages. "I'm getting there."

"Carl, wait-" Gabriel started to say, then there was another flash of light and they vanished, leaving no sign that they'd ever been there.

Except...

Six-year-old Gabriel Van Helsing turned around in his pew and picked up the white feather that had fallen out of Carl's pocket. "Look, Father, an angel's feather!"

FIN. (Again!)

_______________________________________________________________

_Me: All right, all right, I admit. You were right. But now _I_ am right! This is finished!_

_Carl: No, it's not._

_Me: Stop saying that._

_Carl: Well, it isn't! You're writing a sequel, aren't you?_

_Me: *chases Carl around room* You weren't supposed to tell them!!!!! I might not!!!_

_Van Helsing: Please?_

_Me: FINE. But you two will _pay_._

_Anna: No they won't._

_Me: Oh, yes, they will! *goes off to start another torture session* _


End file.
